Comfort Zone
by DiabloVixen
Summary: Mr. Shue's new assignment forces the Glee Club to perform songs they would never think of doing. Meanwhile Finn finally apologizes to Santana for his hallway outburst, unknowingly exposing another one of Santana's secrets. Very Brittana.
1. Chapter 1

**/*Author's Note: The song performed is_ Suga Suga by Baby Bash Feat. Frankie J_. Listen to this on youtube or somewhere before reading. :) */**

Brittany, Puck and Sam had created a "stage" of eight red chairs places side to side in the front of the choir room. Rachel eyed the chairs curiously from the front row. Santana sat on the side of the makeshift stage next to the empty seat that had been occupied by Brittany. The rest of the glee club waited patiently as they finished setting up. Santana watched Puck and Sam swing their guitars over their shoulders before taking their positions on opposite sides the makeshift stage. The boys were dressed normally but Brittany had a pure white baseball cap backwards on her head and a large chain draped across her neck. It looked particularly ridiculous with her Cherrios uniform. Brittany gestured to the band behind them and the music started.

Brittany took one of the empty chairs and straddled it as she sat backwards, bobbing her head to the beat.

Puck and Sam sang the chorus.

**You got me lifted, shifted, higher than the ceiling  
>And, ooh wee, it's the ultimate feeling<strong>

Santana was sure she recognized the beat and the lyrics but she couldn't place the song.

**You know it's leather when we ride, wood grain and raw hide  
>Doing what we do, watching screens getting high<strong>

_Oh my God Brittany is rapping._ Santana couldn't suppress a smile. She had trouble listening to the rest of the verse as she tried to get over the reality of how awesome this was going to be. She snapped back to the song as Brittany stood up out of the chair and jumped onto the chair stage.

Santana glanced over at Rachel. Her arms were crossed and even from this angle she could see the scowl on her face. Brittany was bouncing on the stage to the beat, walking back and forth.

**Off top I can't lie, I love to get blowed**

Santana saw Mercedes and Tina exchange glances before letting out a low giggle. This would probably be seriously offensive if anyone other than Brittany sung it.

**You my lil sugar, I'm yo little chulo,  
>And every time we kick it, it's off to the groovy,<br>Treat you like my sticky ickey,  
>Or my sweet ooey, gooey<strong>

Brittany stopped in front of Santana and rapped this to her. Santana hugged herself to keep in the laughter, afraid if she started laughing she'd burst into hysterics and she didn't want to miss another second of this.

**You got me lifted, feeling so gifted  
>Sugar how you get so fly?<strong>

Puck and Sam were paying too much attention to keeping the beat on their guitars to notice Brittany's antics, which was probably for the best, they wouldn't be able to sing if they saw what was going on.

**Now I ain't worried about a thang 'cause I just hit me a lick,  
>I got a fat sack and a superfly chick<strong>

Brittany pointed to Santana at 'superfly chick'. Santana hugged her body tighter and brought her knees into her chest. Her ribs were starting to throb from suppressing laughter and her cheeks hurt from smiling. That may have been the most perfect thing she had ever seen. She wasn't sure if it was the fact that Brittany leaned back and grabbed her crotch on "fat sack," or the fact that Rachel let out a loud exasperated scoff at the action or the combination of it all but Santana had to use all her will power to not fall on the floor and burst into hysterical laughter. She heard some squeaks and giggles from Mercedes and was pretty sure she was in similar pain.

**She like my sexy-cool mama with blades on her berata,  
>Rockin' Dolce Gabbana, hydro and a cubana<strong>

Brittany leaned in and rapped to Rachel. She touched Rachel's cheek on "sexy-cool mama." Rachel pulled away from Brittany's hand and re-crossed her arms. Santana had never wanted something to stop and never end at the same time. She took in deep breaths and exhaled slowly to alleviate the pressure on her ribs. She looked down at the ground and tried to control herself.

**Girl you keep it so fly with your sweet honey buns,  
>You was there when the money gone,<br>You'll be there when the money comes**

Santana looked up to see Brittany crouching down and rapping towards her. She made a grabbing motion at 'sweet honey buns." Santana saw Rachel shift angrily in her seat. Santana lost it and let out a loud laugh before covering her mouth to minimize the sound. Brittany's mouth grew into a huge smile. Santana slapped both hands over her mouth to stop herself from laughing but sweet honey buns mixed with the giggles coming from Mercedes and Tina made it impossible. She couldn't even pay attention to the rest of the song. She felt the tears well up and roll down her face._ Oh God make it stop. _She rocked back in forth in her chair.

**So high like I'm a star**

Brittany jumped off the chair stage and landed on her feet in front of Mr. Shue. She looked over at Santana and smiled smugly.

"Excellent." Mr. Shue said as he stood up and clapped his hands. He face was red, he had been laughing too.

Brittany, Puck and Sam stacked the chairs and pushed them to the corner, when they finished Brittany took her seat next to Santana. Santana kept her face staring at the ground as she tried to catch her breath and control her laughing.

"Mr. Shue." Rachel called over everyone. Her tone instantly quieted the glee club's laughter. Santana looked over at Rachel before she continued. "The theme of the week is supposed to be going out of our 'comfort zones'." Mr. Shue brought his hands to his chin as Rachel continued. "They didn't do a single thing that was out of their 'comfort zones'." Santana felt Brittany's whole body deflate next to her. Santana wanted nothing more then to get up and punch Berry in the nose.

"But she rapped." Tina countered.

"And it was fantastic." Mercedes added. Mercedes wiped the tears off her face.

"While rapping is definitely 'different'. It was nothing she was 'uncomfortable' with." Rachel said.

"Berry, If you use air quotes one more time-" Brittany squeezed Santana's hand and Santana stopped her threat mid-sentence. Leave it to Berry to have something bad to say about something as amazing as that.

Mr. Shue thought for a moment before looking over at Brittany.

"It was an excellent performance guys." He said. "But she does have a point."

Several glee club members went to protest but he held his hand up. "You're supposed to step completely out of your comfort zones, do something you'd never think about doing, not just do something you haven't done before. I think you need to go back to the drawing board Brittany." Brittany frowned before nodding her head.

The bell rang, indicating the end of rehearsal. Santana led Brittany out of the choir room.


	2. Chapter 2

"Don't listen to Berry." Santana said to Brittany. She was practically shouting hoping that Berry was nearby and could hear her too. "That was absolutely perfect." They stopped in front of their lockers, Santana stood on her tiptoes to kiss Brittany on the cheek. Brittany's smile returned.

Brittany clicked open her lock and leaned into her locker as she rearranged some books. Santana glimpsed over Brittany's shoulder and saw Kurt and Finn talking heatedly. It wasn't exactly an argument but Kurt's face was stern, every so often he would gesture over to her and Brittany. Finn would take a few steps towards them before turning back towards Kurt. After doing this a few times Kurt pushed Finn forward and he was walking over to Brittany and Santana. Santana quickly turned towards her locker to hide that she was just watching him.

"Hey." Finn said to her back. Santana and Brittany turned.

"Hey!" Brittany said. Santana just gave him a small nod.

"I was wondering if I could talk to you." He was looking at Santana as he said this.

Brittany glanced at Santana, asking if she should leave them alone without actually saying the words. Santana grabbed her hand indicating that she wanted her to stay.

"What do you want, Grimace?" Her tone was a lot sharper than usual. If she couldn't take her anger out on Berry, her boyfriend was a good substitute. Brittany squeezed Santana's hand again, just like she had done in the choir room, asking her to be nice.

"Um-." Finn hesitated. She was sure her current mood didn't help whatever it was that was causing his reluctance. "Kurt said I shou- I wanted to apologize for the whole hallway thing a few weeks ago." Finn looked down at his feet.

Santana felt her eyes widen. "Its fine." She said quickly. Trying to end this conversation before it started.

"No, it isn't." Finn continued. He glanced over at Brittany before looking back at Santana.

"I shouldn't have outed you like that." He said.

"No, really, its fine." Santana said. _Please stop talking_.

Finn ignored her and continued. "And I shouldn't have said- those things about you and Brittany."

Santana felt Brittany's eyes on her. Her and Brittany hadn't exactly talked in length about what happened in the hallway the day. Brittany along with the rest of glee club knew that Finn had outed her but not the rest of what was said or if anything else was said at all.

Santana felt pulled back to that day. She opened her mouth to take in a breath. Her throat suddenly felt dry. His words played over and over in her head. His apology didn't make anything better. It just made it all come rushing back from that place she had finally managed to bury it.

Finn noticed the look in Santana's eyes and he glanced back and forth between her and Brittany. He knew he had just done something wrong but he couldn't figure out what.

"What things about her and Brittany?" Brittany asked breaking the silence.

Santana looked down at their hands, Brittany's and her hand were interlocked as usual except Santana noticed their fingers were turning white from pressure. Santana loosened her hold but their fingers will still white. Brittany had to be the one squeezing. She looked up at Brittany and saw her mouth pushed together in a thin line. Her eyebrows narrowed, she looked up at Finn and waited for him to answer.

Finn looked at Santana for help. She pleaded with her eyes, begging him to find a way to dodge the question. She wasn't sure how he would escape it and he already had the backed-into-a-corner look in his eye.

"I'm sorry I thought she told you." His apology was directed towards Brittany but he said it to Santana.

"What things about her and Brittany?" Brittany repeated. She locked her eyes on Finn.

"I just said-" Finn shifted his weight and looked down and kicked the tile with the toe of his sneaker. "I said that um-"

"Finn." Brittany said. Her voice had sharpness to it that Santana had never heard before.

"I called her a coward." He blurted out. "I said that she tears other people down because she was always tearing herself down-"

Santana saw the rest of words form a lump in his throat. Finn swallowed hard but the lump was still lodged preventing him from speaking. There was no escape. Brittany was going to make them stand here until she heard the answer.

"-because you can't admit to everybody that you're in love with Brittany and she might not love you back." Santana repeated Finn's words back to the set of lockers above Finn's right ear.

She had the words completely memorized, no matter how hard she had tried to forget them they had replayed over and over again in her head, like a terrible song stuck on repeat. Santana shook her hand from Brittany's vice-like grip and escaped down the hallway at a full sprint.


	3. Chapter 3

Santana draped her left forearm across her eyes to shield them from the late afternoon sun creeping through her blinds. This was a much easier solution than gathering the strength to stand and close them. And she still didn't have enough foresight to shut them before sprawling on the bed, even though this was the third time it happened this weekend alone.

This had pretty much been Santana's whole weekend. Swallowed up by her gloomy comforter in her gloomy room forgetting to close her gloomy blinds and prevent her only source of yellow brightness from intruding on her gloomy weekend. Her headphones had practically been glued to her ears since she got home Friday, the same playlist on repeat. Sometimes she would hit the back button on her iPod and a song would play again and again and again until she knew the words by heart.

She had been avoiding Brittany. Though technically her phone was just on silent and she just hadn't been reading her text messages or listening to her voicemails so it wasn't technically avoiding, ignoring was a better term for it, or a worse one depending on how you looked at it. She knew Brittany was texting her because she'd see her phone light up the darkened room and knew who they had to be from.

She thought the weekend away would give her time to think and rebury Finn's awful words and move on with her life. But she hadn't buried them, instead the words gestated in her mind, growing, multiplying and poisoning her thoughts. She couldn't really blame Finn, well she would anyway, but the thoughts had always been there muttering to her but she could ignore them when they were only her own. Once they were said aloud again and again she started to see the validity in them.

_-__you're in love with Brittany and she might not love you back._

Santana heard the familiar creak of her window blinds. She kept her body frozen, hoping if she pretended to sleep, her mother would just leave instead of asking another barrage of questions about what was wrong. There was silence now and she heard footsteps around her, she felt the bed dip on the right side. A body was over her, it wasn't touching her but she could sense the warmth and smell that familiar smell. The smell of vanilla and lilacs.

Santana took a deep breath through her nose so she could hold onto Brittany's smell forever, she was too lost in her thoughts this weekend to realize how much she had missed it. Brittany gently lowered Santana's forearm from her face and placed it on her side. Brittany leaned forward to place her lips on Santana's forehead. She drew back and the music went lopsided when Brittany took the ear bud out of Santana's left ear and put it in her own. Brittany laid her head down and rested it against Santana's, and they just listened to the music.

Just as the song ended Santana hit the back button on her iPod to play it again. It was out of habit this time. She had forgotten Brittany was listening too. She felt Brittany lift her head. She knew she was looking at her but Santana still didn't open her eyes. Brittany gently took the iPod from Santana's hand. Santana expected the music to stop but Brittany didn't turn it off. Santana instead heard the click of the iPod wheel through her free ear as Brittany explored the songs on the playlist.

Brittany let the song finish before pausing the music. Santana waited a few moments to see if she'd turn it back on. When she didn't Santana opened an eye at her. Brittany had taken the ear bud out and was now lying on her side, facing Santana, holding herself up by the elbow and balancing her head in her hand.

"Why are you sad?" Brittany asked. She said it with a frown and Santana felt a piece of her heart break, she hated more then anything seeing Brittany sad. She'd feel miserable forever if it'd prevent Brittany from ever having to frown again.

"I'm not sad." Santana said. She sat up slightly and tried to fake a laugh but it was short and coarse and sounded nothing like her real laugh.

"Santana-" Brittany looked down at the iPod. "This playlist doesn't even have a title, it's just an actual sad face."

"I'm fine really." Santana lied.

"And you've been avoiding me all weekend." Brittany added. She placed the iPod down in front of her on the bed and locked eyes with Santana.

"I'm not avoidin-" Santana started. It was a half-hearted attempt at a lie and when Brittany lifted her eyebrows and tilted her head, she knew it wasn't going to work. Santana sighed.

"Does it have something to do with what Finn said in the hallway?" Brittany asked.

Santana nodded and started tracing patterns in small area of blanket that separated them. She watched her finger as she made circles with her nail and then reversed direction to make another circle.

"Santana-" Brittany started.

"Brittany." Santana interrupted her thought. Santana laid her head back down and pinched the crook of her noise with her fingers. She kept her eyes closed as she spoke. "You ever not want to know the truth about something."

She knew from Brittany's silence that she was confused. "Like you don't think you'd can handle the truth so you rather just not know." Santana added.

Brittany lied back on the bed and mimicked Santana. She stared up at the ceiling. Santana could practically hear the gears turning in Brittany's head. They must have been there for a while because Santana could see the light fighting against the blinds changing colors. Brittany finally spoke.

"Do you remember that time I set the traps for the Easter Bunny?" She asked.

Santana raised an eyebrow and turned her head to face her but Brittany was still staring at the ceiling.

"The time I accidently caught Lord Tubbington and he didn't speak to me for a week." Brittany turned her head towards Santana and they met eyes.

Santana let out a laugh. Not because she wanted to or felt forced to but because Lord Tubbington's mishaps were always her favorite stories.

Brittany gave a small scowl. "That's not funny, Santana. He was really mad at me." Her tone was slightly angry but Santana wasn't convinced, especially with that big smile on Brittany's face. Santana laughed again.

"I'm sorry." Santana said.

Brittany turned her head and looked back up at the ceiling.

Santana thought about that spring and how Brittany's mom had asked her to sit Brittany down and tell her that the Easter Bunny wasn't real. Santana thought about ways to do it for a long time but she knew finding out the Easter Bunny was fake would break Brittany's heart and she just couldn't do that to her best friend. She never told Brittany the truth and Brittany's mom never mentioned it to Santana again. Santana was still relieved when Brittany didn't set traps the following year. She was sure Lord Tubbington was too.

"So, are you Lord Tubs in this case?" Santana asked.

"No." She responded. "I'm the Easter Bunny."

Santana swallowed the lump in her throat. Brittany reached down for Santana's hand and interlocked their fingers. Santana kept her eyes on Brittany and squeezed her hand back. Santana wondered if her grip was too tight and if their fingers were turning white like in the hallway at school the other day. She didn't care. She was holding onto Brittany for dear life. Maybe her body was accepting this all but Santana's mind was still fighting the truth in Brittany's words, that she wasn't real, that this wasn't real.

"Santana." Brittany whispered.

Santana shook from her thoughts and looked up to see Brittany staring at her.

"mmhmm." She couldn't form words at the moment without a crack in her voice giving her away.

"I can't feel my hand." Brittany said.

Santana let go of Brittany's hand. Brittany stretched it a few times and shook it, before turning over. She fell asleep with her back to Santana.


	4. Chapter 4

Santana wasn't sure when she finally made the decision. Maybe it was during one of the movies they had watched since they were too awake from their late afternoon nap to go back to sleep. Maybe it was when Brittany was lying with her head in her lap singing the lyrics to a Little Mermaid song or maybe she had finally decided it when she was left to her thoughts when Brittany finally fell back asleep at 5AM.

It didn't matter when it was decided because here she was. The clock read 6:58 am and her alarm for school was going to blast Brittany out of bed and into this mess. Santana had only two more minutes. Two more minutes to change her mind, but she couldn't and she wouldn't change it. This was for Brittany.

It was too late anyway. Santana had already put most of Brittany's stuff in a box. She wasn't sure where the line between girlfriend and best friend was anymore. She decided it was safer to throw in everything and to start new if they had to, if Brittany wanted to. She felt her throat tighten at the thought. Their stuff had gotten so jumbled together that Santana wasn't even really sure if this pair of sweatpants was really Brittany's or if she just happened to always wear it when she came over. She put in other clothes and odds and end. Things she had come used to seeing over the years.

Her room felt empty without the stuff hidden in corners to find later when Santana cleaned or searched for her favorite t-shirt. Some her stuff had been here for years. Santana wondered if she should take down the pictures, she didn't want to but what if Brittany took down hers. What if it hurt too much to look at them later? Santana figured it already hurt too much to look at them now. It wouldn't make much difference either way.

6:59 am. Santana felt her throat tighten. She couldn't do this. Could she? She didn't want to but it was the right thing to do. Santana had always been so selfish especially when it came to Brittany. Brittany didn't want this. She was just afraid to tell Santana the truth, to break her heart. Just like Santana had been when they were younger. Just like Brittany had said, she was Santana's Easter Bunny.

7:00 am. Santana heard something mechanical click and the alarm buzzed. It sent chills up Santana's arms. Her morning alarm was like nails on a chalkboard whether asleep or awake. Brittany rubbed her eyes for a second and shut off the alarm.

"Santana time to get up." She said without opening her eyes. She turned towards the spot where Santana usually slept and reached her arm out. When she felt nothing but cold blankets she shot up.

"Santana?" Brittany called again. It only took her a second to find Santana leaning next to her desk. Holding a large overflowing box in her hand.

"Early morning arts and crafts?" Brittany asked rubbing her eyes. Santana just waited and watched as Brittany blinked at the box in Santana's hand.

"This is your stuff." Santana said. She walked over and placed the box on the bed.

Brittany crawled over to the box and started rummaging through the stuff. She pulled the legs of a pair of sweatpants from the pile.

"Aren't these yours?" She asked.

"Not sure." Santana said quickly. "You can have them." She shrugged.

"Can't I just keep it here?" Brittany asked. She was completely and utterly confused. The fact that she was blindsided at 7AM probably didn't help much either. Santana suddenly wished she had timed this better, but it was now or never.

"I'm breaking up with you." The words practically fell out of Santana's mouth. It was nothing like the speech she had rehearsed all morning.

"What?" Brittany asked. Santana wasn't sure if it was because the words fell out stumbling over one another or because Brittany was in shock.

"I'm breaking up with you." Santana repeated. She said the words a little bit louder and sterner this time.

Santana stiffened her face and looked down at the box and avoided Brittany's eyes. She knew those sapphire eyes and any hint of tears in them would completely change her mind. She couldn't change her mind though; Brittany was too nice to do it herself. Too naive. Santana had to be stronger. Santana had to protect Brittany like she always did, even if it was from herself.

Brittany stood up from the bed. She started to wrap her arms around Santana but Santana pushed her away.

"Santana?" Brittany questioned. She placed her hand on Santana's chin and pulled her face, forcing Santana to look into her eyes. "Why are you doing this? I thought talking last night helped."

"It did." Santana turned her face to stone, refusing to show how much this was destroying her.

"How?" Brittany said. Santana could see the anger in her face and hear it in her voice but it didn't make sense. She thought Brittany would be relieved.

"How did it possibly help?" Brittany asked. Brittany dropped her hands to her sides. Santana could see them clenched into tight fists.

Santana was sure she couldn't hold this stone act for much longer. She walked over to the box and picked it up and held it out to Brittany. "Please just go." Santana begged.

Brittany grabbed the box and headed for the door. She stopped and turned.

"Santana-" Brittany said. Her voice was cracking and broken, tears were falling down her face.

"Just go Brittany." Santana said. She tried to make her voice sound angry. It must have worked because Brittany turned and disappeared out the door.

Santana grabbed her iPod and jammed the ear buds into her ear. She sprawled on her bed and pressed play. She felt the warmth still left from Brittany's body. She buried her head in Brittany's pillow and took a deep breath and wondered if she'd ever smell vanilla and lilacs again without a piece of her dying.


	5. Chapter 5

**/* Author's Note: The song performed here is Lonely Girl by Pink See it here watch?v=EPWrVUhk6AM Give it a listen before continuing. */**

"We missed you yesterday." Mr. Schue said. He looked down at Santana.

Santana didn't look up from her nail file. She was completely aware that the eyes of the entire Glee Club were on her. She especially felt Brittany's eyes burning through the back of her head.

"Took an extended weekend." She shrugged. She ignored Mr. Schue as he rolled his eyes.

Mr. Schue sighed. "Well it's your turn to perform the song for the lesson"

Santana looked up and tried to smirk. She wasn't sure if the message got across. She stood up and walked to the front of the choir room as Mr. Schue took his seat.

Tina, Rachel and Quinn sat on stools behind Santana. She stood in front of the black piano facing Mr. Schue and the rest of Glee Club. Santana could see Brittany out of the corner of her eye but Santana made sure to avoid eye contact. She wasn't sure she could handle seeing Brittany smiling or seeing Brittany frowning, she wasn't sure which one would make her feel more miserable. Someone must have signaled the band because the music started and she wasn't ready. Well at least she could get it over with now. She had a few seconds to gather herself before she swallowed hard and sang.

**I can remember the very first time I cried **

**How I wiped my eyes and buried the pain inside **

The words slipped out like butter. She almost wasn't thinking about the lyrics but saying them. Like they had come from her heart and not someone else's.

**Starin' at the cracks in the walls **

**Cuz I'm waiting for it all to come to an end **

Santana kept her glaze just below the choir room window. She was regretting her choice in song. She was pouring her heart out to this stupid little club and she didn't know why.

Tina, Rachel and Quinn joined in at the chorus, singing the questions. Santana answered.

_**Do you even know who you are? **_

**I guess I'm tryin' to find **

Santana dropped her eyes to Mr. Schue. She figured Rachel would complain about the comfort zone rules if she didn't at least do that. He was a safe bet, his face was always stern but it was betraying him now. He looked up at Santana and it was a sad, pitiful look. She hated him for it. She wasn't singing because she wanted people to feel bad for her it was just for this stupid assignment. She looked back up at the same spot below the choir room window.

**Constantly pushing the world I know aside **

**I don't even feel the pain, I don't even want to try**

__She felt hands on her waist, she flinched for a second but turned to see Quinn wrap her in a sideways hug, as she and the rest of the girls continued to sing.

_**Sorry girl, tell a tale for me **_

_**Cuz I'm wondering how you really feel **_

Berry put her hand on shoulder and Santana allowed it for the "comfort zone" theme, and maybe she liked the support, she made a mental note to not verbalize that aloud. Tina wrapped her arm around Rachel's shoulder since the space around Santana was taken.

**I'm a lonely girl, I'll tell the tale for you **

**Cuz I'm just tryin' to make all my dreams come true **

The song ended and there was silence for a moment, two moments. The silence was long and awkward or maybe Santana was just being self-conscious. Mr. Schue stood and clapped and the rest of Glee club followed suit.

"That was amazing Santana, really." Mr. Schue said.

Santana felt Quinn give her a small nudge. Santana felt a smile escape her lips but she didn't look up at Mr. Schue. She studied the tile on the floor. She hugged her body to shield herself. It was like she was standing naked in front of them and they were gawking at her and her exposed parts. He must have said other things but Santana didn't listen. When he gestured for her to sit down she practically ran to her spot in the row below Brittany.

She felt Brittany stir behind her and she half expected Brittany to whisper congratulations in her ear or to put a hand on her shoulder but she didn't. Maybe Brittany thought it would be awkward or it wasn't allowed anymore. Santana wondered what other things her decision had cost them; shoulder leaning, pinkie linking, shared lunches… Maybe they'd never be best friends again. Santana felt like whatever piece of her heart that was left, just died.


	6. Chapter 6

Santana stuffed her clothes into her Cheerios duffel bag. She knew she'd regret that later when she got home and pulled out her wrinkled top but she didn't care. After the miserable weekend she had, the stupid song she sung in glee club and now after just being chewed out by Coach Slyvester at Cherrios practice, Santana was just ready to plop in her bed and sleep away the rest of the school year.

Santana heard the locker room door swing open. Santana froze. Coach Slyvester was back. She heard her footsteps echo off the locker room walls. Santana frantically stuffed the rest of her clothes into the bag, making as little noise as possible. She didn't zip the duffel bag closed. Maybe she could go out the opposite side and sneak away before Coach Slyvester saw her.

"Santana?" It wasn't Coach Slyvester's voice.

Santana let out a breath. She slammed her locker closed. It was as much of a reply as she was going to give. She heard the footsteps quicken and stop behind her.

"There you are." Quinn said to her back.

Santana didn't bother to turn around. She bend down and zipped her bag. Santana walked away from Quinn and down the other side of lockers, towards the exit. Quinn raced around the lockers and stepped in front of her blocking her path.

"You know you're a moron, right?" Quinn said.

"Love you too, Q." Santana finally met Quinn's eyes. Santana couldn't tell if Quinn was worried or sad. All she knew was she needed to get out of there and out of that conversation. She tried to walk around Quinn but she sidestepped and blocked her path.

"What is going on with you?" Quinn said.

Santana let out a frustrated sigh. Did she really have to say it? "Isn't it obvious?"

"But why?" Quinn said. Her words were quick and harshness. "She loves you and you love her, it makes no sense."

"It more comp-" Santana started.

"No, its really not." Quinn said. "She makes you happy. You've been, _generally_, a better person by just being with her."

Santana opened her mouth to respond but she had nothing. It wasn't like any of that was wrong. Santana pulled her eyes from Quinn's and looked down at her feet.

"Santana." Quinn's voice softened. She placed a hand on Santana's arm. "Come get coffee with me at Lima Bean."

Santana looked up and noticed Quinn's eyes now matched her voice. She opened her mouth to say no thank you but Quinn cut her off.

"We don't have to talk about that. Just hang out like we used to." Quinn said. "We can even make fun of Rachel Berry."

Santana smiled and nodded her head. Nothing could bring up her mood more than a little Rachel Berry bashing.

They walked out to the parking lot trading jabs the entire way, just like the old times. Santana had said something about Quinn's new Ryan Seacrest Tattoo looking like Bob Barker when she got older. She looked up to see Quinn's reaction when her eyes fell on a figure leaning against Quinn's car and she froze.

"Brittany?" Santana said.

"Hey!" Brittany's voice was bubbly as always. Santana was always jealous of her way to just recover from heartbreaking things. It was like a magical power. Or it was probably because Brittany wasn't actually heartbroken.

"Hey." Santana tried to make her voice bubbly too but it didn't work. "What are you doing here?"

"Quinn said we were going to all going for hot chocolate at Lima Bean." Brittany smiled.

Santana mimicked the smile. She glanced over at Quinn who had the biggest grin on her face. Santana made a mental note to save some of her particularly harsh verbal jabs for later.

The picked a table in the far corner since most of the other tables where taken. It was a normal weekday night in Lima but sadly the coffee shop was one of a very few hangouts in this way too small of a town.

They made small talk for a while. Quinn mostly asked the questions but sometimes she had to think for a while as if deciding if a question was okay to ask.

"What song are you doing for Glee Club?" Brittany said. She practically shouted it. Santana noticed the empty coffee cup bouncing in her hand. Brittany probably should have gotten hot chocolate, coffee always made her really hyper. Santana took a healthy gulp from her coffee. The liquid burned her throat and churned in her empty stomach.

"I have no idea." Quinn said. "I'm completely stuck. Any ideas?"

Brittany stopped bouncing her cup and started rubbing her chin, thinking. I could feel her knee start to bounce under the table.

"Maybe a rap song?" Brittany said after a few quiet moments.

Quinn shook her head and smiled. "You already did a rap song though."

"Mr. Schue didn't like it." Brittany frowned. "I have to think of something else. I'm stuck too."

"Hmmm." Quinn said. She looked lost in thought.

Santana stared down at her cup and took another large gulp. She hoped the conversation didn't change to her song.

"Actually I might have an idea, do you think you can you help me?" Brittany said.

Santana looked up at Brittany, expecting those blue eyes to be on her but Brittany was still looking at Quinn. Santana's stomach churned. Maybe it was just from the coffee.

"I – Um." Quinn glanced sideways at Santana but Santana shot her eyes back down as her cup. "Okay, sure."

Santana figured this was another thing she had to get used to. Ghis was probably another one of those things that got lost in the best friend/girlfriend barrier. Brittany wouldn't ask Santana for help anymore, maybe she didn't know how to thank Santana anymore if she couldn't thank her with kisses, among other things…

"Well here they are." Santana jumped at the voice that spoke over her shoulder. She turned her head slightly to the sound but she didn't look. She already knew who it was by the _whish_ of the tracksuit and the sneer in her tone.

"Oh and with my favorite Teen Mom character."

Quinn pulled her lips into her mouth.

"That better be all low-fat there, S." Santana jumped at the hand on her shoulder. "Actually you probably shouldn't be drinking or eating at all. Here."

Santana heard rustling and then saw Sue place a small brown bottle on the table. Santana remembered it from the Sue Sylvester Master Cleanse they were forced to drink a couple of years ago.

"Just pour a little dab of this into all of your meals and this will get you where you need to be." Sue said.

"Wonderland?" Brittany said.

Sue just squeezed Santana's shoulder and disappeared. Santana rolled the bottle of ipecac in between in fingers. Santana stuffed the bottle into her pocket as she stood up. Santana couldn't take any more of Sue Sylvester today.

"I got to go." She didn't speak to anyone in particular as she spun on her heals and headed for the door.

She felt like she was going to throw up. How could someone feel so sick on an empty stomach? She thought it had to be the coffee.

She searched for her keys. She had to get out of her before she vomited coffee all over the Lima Bean parking lot. In her panic the keys fell to the ground. She bent down to pick them up. The sudden rush of standing up made her feel like she was spinning. She put her hand on the car next to her to balance herself and pushed the palm of her other hand into her forehead. What the hell?

Her knees felt weak. They were bowing under her weight. Just as her knees were about the give, hands grabbed her hips to steady her. Santana's knees locked and her body stiffened at the touch she knew came from Brittany.

"Are you okay?" Quinn stepped in front of Santana.

"Did you drink that potion?" Brittany said. She was practically whispering in Santana's ear. "I'll catch you if you shrink up instead of down. I just don't know where the door is."

Brittany's hands were still holding her even though she was standing straight now. She wondered if they followed her out and if they had been watching her.

"Santana?" Quinn said.

Santana forgot she was asked a question. "Oh, I'm fine."

Santana fumbled with her keys Quinn stepped in front of her, blocking the light from the lamppost and forcing Santana to look up.

"Did you eat anything today?" Quinn said.

Santana felt Brittany's hands tightened around her hips. "I –um" Santana stumbled on her words. She went through her day and tried to find something that she ate but she knew there was nothing, she barely drank water. She could just lie but she was too late, the look on Quinn's face showed she already knew the answer.

"Santana." Quinn said. Her tone had completely changed, her shoulders fell and her eyes were soft and kind. Santana stiffened. She didn't want this. She didn't want to be like a child. If she wanted to eat she would have fucking ate. She pulled away from Brittany's grip and brushed past Quinn. She made sure to get a little more of Quinn's shoulder, making sure she knocked her back a little just to remind Quinn who she was dealing with.

Santana marched to her car and unlocked it. Quinn's hand was on it before she could pull it open.

"You shouldn't drive." Quinn said. Santana tried to pull the door open again but Quinn pushed it shut. "You could pass out and kill someone." Quinn sounded frustrated that was the tone Santana was used to.

Santana let go of the door and crossed her arms. At this point listening to Quinn was probably the only way to make her go away. Quinn held her hands out and Santana dropped her keys in them. Quinn smiled a victorious smile.

Quinn turned to Brittany and threw Santana's keys to her. "You've driven Santana's car before right?"

Brittany nodded and caught Santana's keys.

"Great." Quinn turned and headed towards her car. "I'll just follow you then."

She watched Brittany nod again.

Brittany watched Santana ease into the passenger seat before she jumped into the driver's side. Brittany adjusted the seat and reached for the mirror. Her hand froze and she glanced at Santana.

It was rare that Brittany would drive Santana's car, when she did it was usually because Santana had drank a lot more than Brittany at a party. Brittany was always Drivers 101. She would get in the car adjust the seat, check the mirrors and make sure everyone was buckled. Brittany would always make the cutest little pouting face every time Santana playfully complained about it taking a week to get her car back to normal.

"You can adjust it if you want." Santana said.

A small smile crossed Brittany's face and she nudged the mirror.

Santana watched Brittany's face as she focused on the road. The headlights of oncoming cars glistened in off her ocean blue eyes. Santana watched her lips moving up and down, then Brittany's face turned towards her. Santana jumped.

"What?" Santana said. Brittany had said something but she was too busy staring to hear it. Santana pulled her glance to the road in front of her.

"My sister birthday dinner. Thursday" Brittany said.

Santana put her forehead in her hands. She had completely forgotten. "Fuck."

Brittany smiled. "Don't worry I knew you'd forget. That's why I stole twenty bucks from your wallet last week. Her gift from us is all wrapped and sitting in my closet you just need to sign the card."

Santana opened her mouth to thank her but Brittany cut her off.

"I still have the receipt. I can return it and we can get separate things if you want." She spoke the words really fast.

Friend split gifts, right? "No, that's perfect." Santana said. Brittany let out a breath and her lips curved upward.

"Great. So you're still coming for dinner then?" Brittany said. Her breath hitched again. It was like Santana's answer meant the world to her.

Santana thought for a second. Friends went to a friend's sister's birthday dinners, right?

"Sure." Santana said.


	7. Chapter 7

**/*Author's note:**

**Also I love all the reviews :). I'm happy you guys are enjoying the story :).**

**The song performed is Secret Garden by Bruce Springsteen Check it out before reading.*/**

Mr. Schue called Rachel up to the front of the room to perform her song for this week's lesson. Santana made sure her exasperated sigh was extra loud to show how not in the mood she was for Rachel's antics. Mr. Schue shot Santana a warning glare but Santana shrugged it off and crossed her arms.

Rachel ignored Santana and signaled the Brad and the rest of the band to start. Rachel turned to look at Santana.

**She'll let you in her house  
>If you come knockin' late at night<strong>

Santana's eyes narrowed as soon as the words left Rachel Berry's mouth. Rachel paused to swallow a lump in her throat but she continued.

**She'll let you in her heart.  
>If you got a hammer and a vise<strong>

Santana felt her hands shaking. She was too furious to listen to the rest of the song and didn't even realize it was over until the glee club started clapping.

Mr. Schue stood next to Rachel and signaled her to sit down but Santana had jumped up from her seat before Rachel could move.

"What was that?" Santana said.

Mr. Schue and Rachel turned to her. Santana's hands hung clenched at her sides in tight fists. She felt the people seating behind her jump at her sudden movement.

"What?" Rachel said.

Rachel was obviously playing stupid. She had always been a terrible liar and one of her first go-to moves was to play stupid. Especially when it came to a confrontation with Santana. This time it didn't get her out of trouble it only provoked Santana more.

"How is that out of your '_comfort zone'_?" Santana mimicked Rachel's voice and air quotes from when she critiqued Brittany's performance.

Rachel didn't respond. She glanced at someone sitting just over Santana's right shoulder. Santana followed it and saw Brittany frowning down at Rachel. Apparently Rachel hadn't gotten the memo about the breakup. Rachel trying to use Brittany to save her only further infuriated Santana.

She took a step forward. Some of the boys jumped up preparing to grab Santana but Mr. Schue stepped in and spoke to try to defuse the situation.

"Santana I don't think you understood what Rachel was trying to say."

Santana was pretty sure she got the message.

"She Melissa Etheridged a love song. Fan-Freaking-Tastic." She turned to look at Rachel and clapped her hands together. "I and the rest of the lesbians of America want to thank you for stepping out of your 'comfort zone' and bringing us that beautiful…" She clapped her hands together again. "…beautiful number."

Rachel stepped back defensively and starred down at the ground. Santana felt a smirk cross her face. Well at least Rachel was getting some sort of 'discomfort' from her performance.

"Santana." Santana had almost forgotten about the other glee club members sitting behind her. Santana whipped around to check the source to see Blaine frowning at her. His eyes weren't angry as she expected.

Suddenly she felt all of the eyes of the choir room on her. They weren't looking at her but looking down on her. Like she was standing at the chalkboard staring at a geometry problem that the rest of them knew the answer to.

Santana didn't like that feeling, like she was missing out on something. Like there was an answer sitting in front of her and she didn't get it. Even if that wasn't really happening. Even if it was only the way they looked at her that made her feel like this.

Her patience snapped like a twig. She turned back to Rachel who was still staring at the ground.

"She can just do whatever she wants." When Rachel didn't look up she spoke to Mr. Schue instead. "Because she's Rachel Fucking Berry."

Someone let out an audible gasp.

Mr. Schue let out a frustrated sigh. "Santana wait for me in the Principal's office."

Santana opened her mouth to protest but stopped when Mr. Schue raised his hand. "Now!"

Santana turned on her heels and grabbed her bag from the floor before heading towards the door. She got a few steps before she heard Rachel's voice and a few more before she realized she was talking to her. Santana turned around to face Rachel who had finally looked up from her staring contest with the tile.

"Maybe you aren't capable of understanding the true meaning behind the love song I just sang to you." Rachel said.

Santana raised an eyebrow and Rachel understood the unasked question.

"Maybe you are as heartless and unlovable as you think you are." The last words fell out of Rachel's mouth like air from a deflated balloon. Rachel's shoulders visibly shrunk.

The tension in the room grew as eyes turned to Santana. Everyone waited for what they knew was coming. All were ready to jump up and grab Santana before she could wrap her hands around Rachel's throat. But it never came. Santana whipped around and hurried out of the Choir room. Escaping through the door, down the empty hallway and pushing through the quiet bathroom before she broke.


	8. Chapter 8

Santana watched as Brittany carried the neatly wrapped practice across the kitchen. She could tell that Brittany had spent a long time wrapping it. It was dark blue paper covered in multi-colored balloons, there was ribbon tied around it and it matched the color of each of the balloons perfectly. The red, orange, blue, purple, yellow and green ribbons tied together in a neat little bow at the top and the excess ribbon curled over the edge. Maybe a week without Santana had given Brittany free time to do other things. This gorgeous present was just one of many things Brittany would be able to do without Santana. Brittany dropped the present on the kitchen table in front of a bouncing Ashley.

Ashley tore open the gift in seconds. Santana almost felt guilty that something that obviously took so long to create could have been destroyed so quickly. Brittany didn't seem to mind though. She just sat down in her seat across from Santana and watched her sister with a huge smile on her face.

The volume of Ashley's shriek made Santana jump. She glanced at Brittany who now had the smuggest look on her face. Santana hadn't even bothered to ask Brittany what she bought for her sister. She obviously trusted Brittany would get the perfect thing since Ashley was pretty much a mini-version of her.

Ashley started picking DVDs out of the boxes and dropping them on the table in front of her. Santana snuck a peak at the cover of one of them. Her eyes shot open. She'd recognize that stupid blonde wig anywhere. Santana didn't realize they made so many Hannah Montana movies. She tried to count them but lost count at six when Ashley dropped another handful on DVDs on top of the growing pile.

_Oh My God_.

Santana glanced up at Brittany who was silently chuckling at the horrified look on her face. Brittany had to know when she bought these movies that Ashley would force the pair to watch them with her. Every. Single. One. Brittany also knew how much Santana hated Hannah Montana.

"Sorry. I bought them last week." Brittany whispered over Ashley's begs to watch the first movie. Santana found it hard to believe the sincerity of the apology over Brittany's chuckling.

"After cake." Brittany's mom said and Ashley stopped begged and shoveled forkfuls of cake into her mouth.

Santana was pretty sure Ashley was going to choke to death. She'd never seen anyone eat that fast. Santana tried to nurse her piece of cake for as long as she possibly could. After a half hour she was pretty confident that Ashley was going to explode so she finished up and they filed into the living room.

Ashley put her pile of DVDs on the living room floor and opened the first movie. Brittany's mom and dad made some excuse about work and ducked out of the Hannah Montana Marathon but Ashley barely noticed. Santana and Brittany were going to be her victims tonight.

Brittany and Santana sat on opposite ends of the couch. Ashley sat between them and started the movie. The screen lit up and Santana hoped it wasn't as bad as she remembered.

It was worse.

It was like Rachel Berry filmed her imaginary childhood. Santana powered through two movies and the first four episodes of the first season. _Oh God, there are seasons?_

She felt her eyes getting heavy and decided this was probably a good time to call it a night before she fell asleep at the wheel of her car on the ride home.

"Okay kiddo." Santana padded Ashley's leg as the credits signaled the end of another episode. "I think it's about time we call it a night."

Santana stood up and grabbed her coat from the armchair and threw it over her shoulders.

"You're leaving?" Ashley said. Santana looked back to see Ashley had the most confused expression on her face. Ashley looked back to Brittany for an answer but Brittany's eyes were still fixed on the television screen.

"Its late." Santana said. She suddenly found it impossible to look at a miniature version of Brittany. She turned to find her bag on the armchair and rummaged for her keys.

"We can watch something else!" Ashley was suddenly at Santana's side and tugging the fabric of her shirt to get her attention.

"I have to get home, kiddo." Santana tried to smile but it was so hard.

"But you never go home, you always stay here." Ashley said.

"I can't." Santana had already found her keys but she still stared at her purse, afraid to look up. She couldn't explain this to herself, how could she explain it to a kid.

Ashley let go of Santana's arm and headed back towards the couch. "Brittany, ask Santana to-" Ashley froze at Brittany's feet. "Why are you crying?"

Santana felt a lump form in her throat. She looked over at Brittany, she was sitting with her knees tucked into her chest, still staring at the blank television screen. A single tear had just fallen down her face and dropped to the floor.

"Brittany?" Ashley shook Brittany's knees to get her attention.

Brittany looked up at her and smiled sadly. "I'm fine."

Ashley turned back to Santana. Her face had completely fallen and her eyes were welled up with confused tears. Santana hated seeing the bubbly sisters so sad. It should have been illegal for anyone to make either of them this sad, a mortal sin to do it to both of them at once. She felt guilt well in the pit of her stomach. She needed to leave now. She couldn't drag this on anymore.

Santana pushed past the pair and brushed her hand against Ashley's back as she headed for the door. Hoping to offer some soft of comfort.

"We don't have to watch Hannah Montana!" Ashley was begging now. Santana froze at the door but didn't turn around.

Ashley's sob echoed through the back of Santana's head and dropped into Santana's stomach. The horrible feeling there intensified. She turned to look at Ashley.

Ashley was kneeling in front of her Hannah Montana DVDs. Sobs shivered her tiny body. Santana glanced at Brittany, she just sat there, arms wrapped around the knees still tucked into her chest and watched.

Ashley opened the boxes and threw the DVDs across the room. A DVD cracked against the wall and landed on the floor.

"Girls?" Brittany's mom stepped down to the middle of the stairs and looked down at Santana. Her voice was still sleepy. "What's going on?"

Santana looked back over at Ashley who was still throwing her DVDs.

"Ashley!" Mrs. Pierce said. She hurried down the stairs and raced over to Ashley. She locked a firm grasp on Ashley's wrist before she could throw the next DVD she had in her hand. "What are you doing?"

"I hate-" Ashley spoke in between gasps. "Hannah Montana."

Mrs. Pierce looked back at Brittany and Santana for some explanation, when they gave her nothing she turned back towards Ashley.

"What are you talking about?" Mrs. Pierce said. "You love Hannah Montana."

"No." Ashley said. "I don't want them anymore. I want something else."

"What do you want instead?" Mrs. Pierce said. She lifted Ashley up away from the pile of plastic wrapping and DVD cases. Ashley looked past Mrs. Pierce and studied Brittany for a moment before she looked up at her mother and spoke again.

"I want Brittany to not be sad anymore."

Brittany's face turned towards her sister. Her lips lifted in a small smile. Maybe it was to feign happiness for her sister's benefit or to thank her for being thoughtful.

"And I want Santana to stay." Ashley said. Ashley and Mrs. Pierce looked back at Santana.

Santana felt her mouth fall open. Santana wanted to stay too. So badly. But that was exactly the reason why she had to leave. How could she explain to a ten year old that friends don't sleep in friends' beds anymore? And those friends don't stare at friends' lips thinking about what it would be like to kiss them just one last time.

"Ashley lets get you ready for bed. Its really late." Mrs. Pierce practically dragged Ashley upstairs. Leaving Brittany and Santana alone in the living room. They stood in silence for a moment. Santana racked her brain for something to say. Something to make this better but she had nothing.

Santana just watched as Brittany stood up from her chair and started to collect the DVDs from their spots on the floor. She dropped them in a pile next to the open cases and sat on her knees. She slowly returned each DVD to its case.

Friends took care of friends when they were upset but Santana turned and walked out the door. Maybe she couldn't do friends. Maybe Rachel was right.


	9. Chapter 9

**/*Author's Note: I really like this Chapter. It might be my favorite. Let me know what you think! And thanks for reviewing everyone!*/**

Santana cursed under her breath. It was one of those days where she didn't have the heart to put much energy into anything. So when she jumped in her car and tossed her unzipped duffel bag into her backseat she thought about zippering it so clothes didn't fly out but she didn't have the energy to care. It was going to be one of those days.

Now she was standing in the nearly empty McKinley High parking lot trying to fish her spankies out from underneath the passenger seat.

"Santana?"

Santana froze at the sound of her name. She removed her arm from underneath the seat and straightened up as soon as her brain processed the voice. If she could make a list of all the people she didn't want to see right now, Rachel would probably be the first. Scratch that, second, right behind her boyfriend. It really was going to be one of those days.

Santana tried to rack her brain for one of those snarky comments. Nothing came to her. She had been drained from the night at the Pierces and her lack of sleep wasn't helping either. Now Rachel was here and Santana felt defenseless against her.

"Brittany and Quinn mentioned that you come to school early on Fridays to meet with Coach Sylvester." Rachel said.

Santana whipped around at the sound of Brittany's name. It was weird for Rachel to mention it like this. Like they talked all the time. As far as she knew Brittany and Rachel never talked. She wasn't sure about Quinn though. Quinn had been a little weird all year maybe a friendship with Rachel was just another Quinn quirk for senior year.

Rachel flinched a little but she stood her ground.

"She remembered it was Friday because it's the only day she has to drive. Since you insist on letting her sleep in." It was like Rachel was trying to talk her down. Like a mention of her being sweet with Brittany would soften Santana enough for Rachel to escape this interaction unscathed. At least Rachel couldn't tell that Santana was off her game right now.

Santana crossed her arms. She hoped it played off as disinterest but it was really to keep her insides from falling out at another mention of Brittany.

"I just wanted to apologize, for yesterday." Rachel turned her body slightly, like she was readying to take off at a full sprint if she had too. "It isn't true. I was just frustrated."

Santana felt herself nodding. It looked like it took every piece of Rachel to say just that. Nodding was the least Santana could do, even if she was still pissed or at least pretending to be. She didn't have the energy to be pissed either.

"I also wanted to give you this." Rachel gestured down. That's when Santana noticed she was holding an iPod in her hands. She held the headphones out and stepped towards Santana. Santana could hear music playing though the ear buds. It wasn't loud enough to make out the song, just beats and whispers but she knew it had to be a song playing. It wasn't like it was rocket science.

Rachel held the iPod out until Santana took it in her hands. She looked up at Rachel and cocked an eyebrow. Rachel smiled. She knew she was making progress in this ridiculously one-sided conversation.

"I figured you were too-" Rachel paused as she chose the right word. "_upset_ to really listen to the song. Maybe if you listened to it again, you'd get it?" It was a question. Rachel was pleading with Santana. Asking her to try her song again.

Santana frowned and looked down at the iPod Rachel dropped in her hands. Sure enough she saw "Secret Garden" as the song listed. The little progress bar was starting to fill across the screen. The song was in the middle right now. Santana looked up at Rachel but she had already turned and walked away. Santana watched her for a moment but when Rachel didn't turn around Santana climbed into her passenger seat and jammed the ear buds into her ears.

She was surprised the Bruce Springsteen was singing this version. She half expected Rachel to have her recorded version already on her iPod. Santana wouldn't put it past Rachel to listen to herself over and over again. She probably fell asleep to her own songs. Rachel probably had a recording studio on stand-by, she probably could have a song recorded and produced in five minutes. Not like she had anything better to do.

Santana internally cursed at her self. She still hadn't been listening. She started the song over, laid her head back against the cushion of the seat and listened.

Now that she actually listened to the lyrics she understood what Rachel's goal was for the 'Comfort Zone' assignment. Santana slapped her hand to her forehead and cursed at herself in Spanish.

She listened to the song over and over again before she realized the parking spaces around her were filled. She had missed her meeting with Sue and class was starting in five minutes. But Santana didn't need class right now. She jumped across the console and into the driver's seat. A few students watched as she burned rubber out of the parking lot since it was so unusual for a car to _leave _student parking on a Friday morning.

* * *

><p>She cursed a few times as she got stuck driving behind her third school bus. She finally made it to the Pierce residence thirty minutes into first period.<p>

She knocked on the door. Maybe a little too loudly and a little too frantically but she just assumed everyone was up on a weekday morning. Mrs. Pierce always made breakfast for her girls before they went off to school. She had to be up.

Santana felt herself bouncing up and down impatiently. It felt like it was taking hours. She was just about to turn and leave when the door flew up. Mrs. Pierce was drying her hands on a towel. Her face was scrunched in confusion but it quickly turned into a smile.

"Santana!" Mrs. Pierce asked. She opened her arms and brought Santana into a hug. She didn't speak again until they separated. "Brittany's at-"

"School. I know. I wanted to talk to you actually." Santana interrupted.

Mrs. Pierce smiled wider. "Of course, dear. Come in."

Mrs. Pierce stepped aside and Santana walked in.

"Coffee?" Mrs. Pierce asked. Santana nodded and Mrs. Pierce led her to the kitchen.

Their ability to play off a weird situation as something completely casual and normal was one of the Pierce Families' best qualities. Santana sat at the table as Mrs. Pierce grabbed two cups and placed them on counter. She poured coffee into each cup. She walked around the kitchen grabbing sugar and milk. She placed the coffee in front of Santana. It was already just the way Santana liked it. No sugar and just a touch of milk. Almost black. Santana thanked her and took a sip.

Mrs. Pierce nodded and took her seat across from Santana.

"I still don't know how you can drink it like that." She dropped two teaspoons of sugar into her coffee as she spoke.

Santana just shrugged and Mrs. Pierce looked up and smiled.

She filled the rest of her cup with milk before she took a sip. "Perfect."

Santana smiled. Mrs. Pierce did this with every cup of coffee Santana ever saw her drink. She never had to add more sugar or more milk she'd put just the right amount for her and said perfect. Well except that one time Brittany made the coffee and put way too much and it was basically like drinking coffee flavored mud. Even Mrs. Pierce couldn't play that one off.

They made small talk for a while when Santana caught Mrs. Pierce glancing up at the clock. Santana knew she wasn't rushing her or bored with the conversation. She was counting the minutes of school Santana was missing and the piles of detentions she was probably going to get.

"Santana, I don't want to rush you or anything." Mrs. Pierce took a long sip and placed her empty coffee cup on the table in front of them. "But you should get back to school before you get in trouble. You've already missed-" Mrs. Pierce narrowed her eyes and Santana could tell she was doing the math.

"Almost four periods." Santana said for her. She had been counting the detentions too. Glee club was going to start in almost twenty minutes. It was the first class Brittany and Santana had together on Fridays. She always counted the minutes and classes on Fridays.

"I'm assuming you're here to talk about you and Brittany." Mrs. Pierce said.

Santana nodded.

"I just want you to know." Mrs. Pierce reached across the table and took Santana's hand, the sudden touch made Santana flinch. Her hand was still warm from the coffee or maybe it was just always warm. "That no matter what happens between you two. I'll always love and respect you."

Santana nodded again.

"But to be honest." Mrs. Pierce withdrew her hand and leaned back in her chair. "This whole thing has me a little-"

"Pissed?" Santana said.

"Baffled." Mrs. Pierce corrected.

Mrs. Pierce paused for a second and studied Santana. "Is it because of what that boy said in the hallway?"

Santana nodded. God, why couldn't she find words to speak.

"And you think he knows Brittany better than you do?" Mrs. Pierce said.

It was so ridiculous now that she heard it spoken aloud. Did she really think Finn knew Brittany better than Santana did? Of course not. Finn barely knew which way was up and he probably only knew that because he was already so high up there. But Santana still had those doubts. They were just brought to the surface by Finn Hudson. And confirmed by Brittany that night in her bedroom. At least that's what Santana had thought. Santana finally found words and she looked up at Mrs. Pierce before she spoke.

"Do you remember when you asked me to tell Brittany about the Easter bunny?" Santana said.

Mrs. Pierce frowned at first. Maybe it was because the sudden change of subject caught her off guard but she smiled and rolled right into the conversation like a champion she was probably used to it. She did raise Brittany Susan Pierce after all.

"I'm so sorry about that." Mrs. Pierce grabbed Santana hand. She didn't flinch this time. "I just thought since you were her best friend she'd believe you and forgive you sooner. But it was unfair of me to ask you to do something like that."

"But it worked out." Her face softened and she let out a low laugh. "And Tubbington is forever grateful." She gestured to the cat as he waddled his way across the kitchen and to his food dish.

"I never told her." Santana said. It was supposed to be a statement but Santana thought it came out as more of a question. Maybe it was because she was so confused.

"You didn't?" Mrs. Pierce frowned and thought for a moment.

"She must have just figured it out for herself." Mrs. Pierce smiled a proud smile for Brittany.

"That's probably for the best." Mrs. Pierce stood up and grabbed their empty coffee cups. "Plus now it makes all those jokes about Teddy's, that was her cousin's rabbit, poop not tasting like M&M's less disturbing and much funnier." She shook her head and let out a loud laugh. "God, that girl." She dropped the cups in the sink.

She sat back down across from Santana with a huge smiled across her face. "As I always say, '_A truth is worth more learned than told_.'"

It was like Mrs. Pierce had just slapped Santana across the face. Suddenly it made sense. It all made sense.


	10. Chapter 10

**/*Author's Note: This song is Open Your Eyes by Snow Patrol. Check it out on youtube before reading. And thanks for the feedback all :). **

**Debating about whether this will be the last chapter or not. I might want to shift my focus to my other fic since I have a little writer's block with it. */**

She clutched the steering so tight her hand was starting to tingle. It was all she could do to keep from lifting her hand and slapping herself in the face.

She had always been an expert at Brittanyisms. People always thought Brittany was slow or stupid but Santana always got the sexual innuendo or the slight jab in her one-liners. She always knew that Brittany was a secret genius. But Santana had missed this one. She completely missed this one and was making the biggest mistake of her life. She should hit herself for being so stupid.

She raced through the street of Lima, Ohio. The roads were less crowded now that the morning rush was over. Santana's mind played back to that night in her room. The night she had thought that Brittany told her that her love was fake, that their relationship was a lie, that she cared too much to tell Santana the truth.

_"I'm the Easter bunny." _

Santana had thought Brittany knew about the deal Santana had with her mom. That Santana broke the deal because she loved Brittany too much to tell her that the Easter bunny wasn't real. But Brittany didn't know. She had no idea. Brittany had learned about the truth on her own. It started to make sense the more Santana thought about it. Brittany had started asking really weird questions that year.

_Can some rabbits lay eggs? Because her cousin's rabbits wouldn't no matter how much bird feed she gave it. How you can make an animal poop candy and if Lord Tubbington could poop candy or did she need magic? _

She had developed a strange obsession with rabbits that Santana couldn't explain she just chalked it up to Brittany weirdness but she realized now what Brittany was doing. She was figuring it out for herself. She was slowly realizing and discovering that the Easter bunny wasn't real.

"_A truth is worth more learned than told."_

This is what Brittany had been doing this whole time too. Letting Santana realize and discover her own truth. Holding her and kissing her and telling her she loved her wouldn't have cast aside the doubt in Santana's heart. That doubt that she didn't deserve the love from someone that amazing and she'd never get it.

She pulled into the parking lot. She shifted the gears into park and grabbed her keys before running from the car. Glee club started 5 minutes ago and for some reason she knew she had to be there. She knew it was important to see whatever song Brittany planned to perform. Brittany was a subtle genius. She knew the song would give her the answer. She just knew it.

She sprinted down the hallway at full speed and turned into the choir room door. She placed her hands on her knees and gulped a few breaths before she heard Mr. Schue's voice.

"Santana? Are you alright?"

She looked up at him and nodded, still too out of breath to speak. She saw that Brittany was sitting on a stool in front of the black piano and Sam and Puck were sitting in their seats holding their guitars. Quinn and Mr. Schue were standing next to Brittany and each had a supportive hand on her back.

Santana held up her hands and pointed to an empty seat hoping to convey _I'm sorry I'll sit down_ without having to actually say any words. She sat in her seat and took a few more heavy breaths. She was starting to feel normal minus that fact that her heart was still racing but Santana couldn't tell if it was from the running or from seeing Brittany.

Mr. Schue finally turned his attention away from Santana and leaned in towards Brittany.

"Are you ready now, Brittany?" Mr. Schue said.

Brittany glanced over Mr. Schue's shoulders and met eyes with Santana. Brittany looked like she was about to throw up. Santana cast her a reassuring smile. Brittany's face lit up and she looked back at Mr. Schue and nodded.

"Great!" Mr. Schue and Quinn headed back to their seats. As soon at they were settled Brittany signaled to Puck and Sam who started strumming on their guitars from their seats.

Brittany took a few deep breaths. Her knee bounced up and down on the stool to the beat of the music. Brittany had a dancer's heart and her feet were begging her to do what she did best. But she ignored them and just sang.

**All these feels strange and untrue  
>And I won't waste a minute without you<strong>

Brittany grabbed the side of the stool with both her hands. It killed Santana to watch Brittany this way. Brittany loved to sing but she was always more confident in the way she moved. She figured that as long as she was dancing and moving then her voice wouldn't be as important.

Brittany locked eyes with Santana. Her knee stopped bounced.

**Tell me that you'll open your eyes.  
>Tell me that you'll open your eyes.<strong>

She repeated it again and again. Santana couldn't figure out why Brittany had been so worried about her voice. It was the most perfect thing in the world.

**Get up, get out, get away from these liars. **

Brittany stood up from the stool and glanced at Finn who squirmed in his seat. She turned back towards Santana. Ocean blue eyes locked on wide almond eyes and Brittany stepped closer to Santana.

**Cus they don't get your soul or your fire. **

Brittany offered her hand out to Santana.

** Take my hand, knot your fingers through mine.**

Santana did as the song said.

** And we'll walk from this dark room for the last time. **

Brittany stood her up and lead her to the stool and Santana sat down on it. Brittany rounded Santana and sung to her with her back to the rest of glee club. She had a seductive little smirk on her face when she placed her hand on Santana's thigh. Santana's eyes fell down to her fingers as they squeezed Santana's bare skin.

**Every minute from this minute now  
>We can do what we like anywhere <strong>

Brittany grabbed Santana's face and pulled her head up so they locked eyes again.

**I want so much to open your eyes  
>Cus I need you to look into mine<strong>

Brittany didn't release Santana's face until the song ended. Brittany's hands reached up to wipe the tear running down her own cheek. She studied Santana for a moment. A moment was all she got because Santana locked her hands around Brittany's neck and brought her down for a kiss. She kissed her deeply like she hadn't seen her for months or even years. Santana thought for a second about all of glee club, in front of her, watching them but she didn't care.

Brittany placed her hands on Santana's hips. Mr. Schue cleared his throat.

"Um Girls." He had to clear his throat one more time before Brittany finally broke the kiss.

"Later." She whispered when Santana gave her a small pout.

Santana looked back at Mr. Schue.

"Okay, well that was great Brittany." He stood up and clapped and the rest of glee club clapped too.

Santana scanned the group. She rolled her eyes at the I-told-you-so grin that Quinn had on her face. Santana's glanced at Rachel who seemed to be nodding her approval. She met eyes with Santana and they exchanged a sort of half-smile. It said thank you and sorry without ever really having to say the words. Rachel nodded again and Santana smirked back at her.

Brittany pulled Santana back towards a set of seats and they sat the rest of the period with Santana's legs in Brittany's lap. They watched as Quinn announced her song was _Christina Aguilera's Dirrty_. Santana didn't have to think too hard about who suggested the song especially when Quinn send a scowl Brittany's way as the performance started.

Santana leaned forward and whispered into Brittany's ear. "I'm guessing you had something to do with this?"

Brittany shrugged. "I figured if that last song didn't win you over, convincing Quinn to do this would." She smirked.

Santana chuckled but stopped when Quinn glared at them again. As soon as Quinn looked away both of them let out muted laughs and had to cover their mouths.


End file.
